BACKPACKING BACKGROUND
I have been hiking and camping since I was
born, but only started backpacking in 2005. So far, most of my
backpacking trips have been weekend hikes into the Sierra Nevada with
friends and my dog, Patch. I prefer the eastern Sierra and typically
hike at elevations from 6,000 to over 10,000 feet (1,800 to 3,000 m).
My pack is usually around 25 pounds (11 kg), including consumables, but only because I make Patch help out.

PRODUCT INFORMATION
Manufacturer: Outdoor Research
Model: Latitude Mitts
Year of Manufacture: 2006
Manufacturer’s Website: http://www.orgear.com
Size: Medium (sized for hand circumference 8 to 8.5 in (20 to 22 cm) and hand length 7.5 to 8 in (19 to 20 cm)
Color: Tarmac/Black
Listed Weight: 7.4 oz (210 g) for size large
Measured Weight: 214 g (7.5 oz) for size medium (the scale I used is in g)
MSRP: $89.00 US
Made in Vietnam

Manufacturer’s Description from Product Tag: (all information is in both English and French on the tag)
“Fully functional glove system for technical mountaineering and
alpine climbing in all conditions.” The tag lists the sizes
available (S, M, L, XL), technical features (3-in-1 glove system,
waterproof/breathable Gore-Tex® PacLite® shell, high-grip
AlpenGrip® palm, and removable soft shell work glove), average
weight, manufacturer website and phone number, and the Outdoor Research
“Infinite Guarantee” (“Outdoor Research products are
guaranteed forever.”) More specific descriptions of the technical
features are also listed.INITIAL IMPRESSIONS AND PRODUCT DESCRIPTION
The color and size of the mitts are as requested: tarmac/black, medium.
I had never heard “tarmac” used as a color before, but to
me it implies the blackish brown color of actual tarmac. However, the
photographs and color swatch on the OR website show a tan color. The
actual color of the mitts is neither the color of tarmac nor the tan
color I viewed on the website. Of course, differences in computer
screens are probably to blame. A more appropriate color name for the
product would be “greyish brown” or better yet,
“mud”. I like mud, so the color is fine by me!

The mitts are a size medium, but are labeled as “Men’s
M” inside both the inner gloves and outer shells. Nowhere else on
the OR website or product tag are they listed as a men-specific
product. With a 7.5 in (19 cm) hand circumference and length, my hands
don’t fit the sizing chart for the OR Latitude Mitts. My hand
circumference puts me in a size small and my hand length puts me in a
size medium. I chose the size medium to accommodate the length of my
hands. The size medium Latitude Mitts fit well enough for my use and
are probably the best size for me based on the sizes available. The
inner gloves are excessively wide, as expected based on the sizing
chart and my hand circumference, but I don’t think this will be
problematic. The fingers of the inner gloves are the right length for
me. The thumb of the inner glove, however, is positioned too far up the palm of the hand for
me. My hands must be longer than typical. I also wish the thumb of the glove was longer. Next time, I should try a pair of
women-specific mitts, but the OR Latitude Mitts should do for now,
despite the awkward thumb. According to the OR website, OR does sell
other models of mitts with women-specific measurements that would fit
my hand measurements. I would prefer that the OR Latitude Mitts be
listed as men’s mitts on the website.

The black inner soft-shell work gloves are made of a
“weather-resistant soft shell stretch fabric”, but the only
stretchy portions of the inner gloves are the tops of the fingers and
knuckles (for dexterity) and the material from the wrist down
(approximately 3 in (8 cm) of material). The AlpenGrip® material
covering the palm of the inner gloves is flexible (but not stretchy), feels
rubbery to the touch, and is waterproof. AlpenGrip® covers the
entire palm of the inner gloves, including the bottoms of the fingers
and thumb, and wraps around the back of the hand. Elastic around the
wrist keeps the inner gloves comfortably secure, and a hook-and-loop
adjustable tab further secures the inner gloves. 100-weight black fleece
lines the inside of the inner gloves along the back of the hands.

The inner gloves are made to fit inside the outer shells of the mitts.
The Gore-Tex® PacLite® nylon mitt shells are
“tarmac” (mud-colored) with black palms. There is no liner
or insulation in the shell since they are meant to be worn over the
inner gloves. The shells can be tightened around the wrist by
adjustable straps. The coolest features are the DuoCinch™
gauntlet closures, approximately 6 in (15 cm) down from the bend in my
wrists. Pulling on the grey tabs tightens the cinches, and pulling on
the black tabs loosens the cinches. I can easily pull these
tabs, even while wearing the mitts.

Removable Idiot Cords dangle from
each mitt. It seems to me that if I'm using Idiot Cords I probably
don't want them to be removable or they might fall off. However, I'd
have to untie the cords, so I don't think there's any danger of losing
the Idiot Cords. Grey plastic disks on each Idiot Cord tighten to
secure the
mitts, but I haven’t yet figured out how they can be loosened
with the same hand (OR promises “same-hand operation”). The
mitts also have a small black plastic clip to keep them together while
not in use.

TRIAL RUN

There’s no snow on southern California’s beaches, so I
won’t have the opportunity to test out snowman building with the
OR Latitude Mitts tonight. However, a quick douse of water over the
mitts in the kitchen sink assured me the GoreTex® PacLite®
material works to keep the water out and the seams on the Latitude
Mitts are sealed tightly. I plan on getting out into the cold soon to
test the warmth, durability, and weatherproofness of these mitts.

Field Report: March 7, 2007FIELD CONDITIONSUnfortunately for me, the Latitude Mitts
didn't arrive in time for a week long trip to the Sierra Nevada.
However, since the Initial Report, I have still had the chance to use
the Latitude
Mitts while backpacking in Los Padres National Forest, cross-country skiing and playing in the snow in San Bernardino National Forest. The
first of two weekend backpacking trips was at an elevation of 4,000 to 5,000
ft (1,200 to 1,500 m), with a dusting of snow (up to 1 in, 2.5 cm) on
the ground, no
precipitation falling, and temperatures ranging from 10 to 40 F (-12 to
4 C). The second backpacking trip was at an elevation of 3,500 ft
(1,060 m), with no snow on the ground, no precipitation falling, and a
low temperature of 40 F (4 C). The cross-country-ski and snow-play trip was at an elevation of 6,000 ft (1,800 m), with 1 ft (0.3 m)
of snow on the ground, no precipitation falling, and a temperature of
20 F (-7 C).

FIELD TEST RESULTS

FITThe OR Latitude Mitts still fit "just OK".
The fingers of the inner gloves fit well, but palms of the inner gloves are a little
bit wide. The outer shells generally slide easily over the inner
gloves, unless the inner gloves get sweaty.

COMFORTThe mitts have proven comfortable for playing
in the snow and the inner gloves alone are also comfortable for wearing
around camp or even to sleep in. I found that the anatomical curve of the inner gloves made the mitts quite comfortable for
holding ski pole grips.

DEXTERITYAfter suiting up in my cold-weather gear, including the Latitude Mitts,
for a day of cross-country skiing, I realized that I forgot my phone in
the car. I was able to (somewhat awkwardly) unlock and open the car
door while still wearing the mitts. So even with the mitt shell, the Latitude Mitts
do allow for some dexterity.
However, I needed to remove the mitts to unzip the pocket of my
jacket. While
backpacking, I put on the inner gloves
after arriving at our camp, but found it too difficult to set up the
tent, unleash the dog or collect firewood while wearing them, so I took
them off again for these chores.

EASE OF USEI
found the DuoCinch gauntlet closures very easy to
tighten and loosen, even while wearing both mitts. This is
definitely my favorite feature of the mitts, simply because it's
something I hadn't seen before. I haven't used the
removable Idiot
Cords, but leave them dangling. The Idiot Cords are long enough to fit
around the wrists of my jacket, but tightening and loosening the Idiot
Cords seem like too big of hassles (and definitely not doable with
one gloved hand).

While skiing, I needed to remove the mitts and inner gloves to open my
jacket pocket, look at my map and get a drink of water. Taking the
mitts and inner gloves on and
off was easy enough until the inner gloves got sweaty. The sweaty inner
gloves didn't slide on my hands easily and were also somewhat difficult
to get back into the mitt shells. Each of my water breaks took an extra
minute for me to take the mitts on and off.

WATERPROOFNESSWhile skiing, at first I fell often and spent a lot of
time trying to push myself up again. Of course, that meant I had the
chance to test the weatherproofness of these mitts. My hands never felt cold,
even buried in snow, and the inner gloves didn't get wet from
these falls. The mitts are definitely waterproof.
However, after an hour or so of skiing, my hands were too warm and the
inner gloves got sweaty.
I took off the inner gloves and shells during a couple of water
breaks,
but had a difficult time sliding the sweaty inner gloves back into the
mitt
shells. I could have left the shells off, but was afraid my hands might
get cold when I fell into the snow. It wasn't until the end of the day
that I realized just how not breathable the Gore-Tex shells are. The
inner gloves were soaked through and sweat dripped from the
shells. I didn't have quite the same workout while playing in the snow and making snowballs as I did while skiing, so the inner gloves remained dry.

WARMTHI wasn't digging my hands in snow while backpacking, so I wore just the inner gloves of the Latitude Mitts most of the time since the mitt shells don't offer any extra insulation.
The inner gloves worked very well to keep my hands warm. I also used
them while I slept on a particularly cold night (10 F, -12 C) in my
not-warm-enough sleeping bag.
The sweaty Latitude Mitts may not be a good match for me for strenuous
cold-weather exercise like cross-country skiing, but they were still
warm, even when sweaty. The inner gloves alone may have worked better,
particularly if I didn't spend the day falling in the snow.

DURABILITYI machine-washed the inner gloves in cold water and put them in the dryer on low heat after the
sweaty ski trip. The glove color didn't bleed and
they still look and fit the same after the wash. I only rinsed the mitt
shells. I don't have any concerns about the durability of these mitts.

Long-Term Report: May 8, 2007LONG-TERM TEST CONDITIONS & RESULTSSince my Field Report, I have again used the Latitude
Mitts for cross country skiing and on one of my backpacking trips. I spent two
days cross-country skiing in Mammoth, mostly on groomed
trails, at
an elevation of approximately 9,000 ft (2,700 m) in sunny conditions
with temperatures
ranging from 35 to 65 F (2 to 18 C). I learned a sweaty lesson during
earlier field testing to not use the waterproof shells for skiing, so I
wore only the inner gloves while skiing. I again found that they were
very
comfortable for holding ski poles. I took a ski lesson where I learned
how to hold the poles correctly, how to go uphill without falling and,
most importantly, how to slow myself down on the way down hill. I
generally
have much better control now, so I didn't fall at all this time around.
With my
newfound confidence on the green ("easy") ski trails, I was willing to
take off the inner gloves when my hands got warm and risk cold
hands if I did fall in the snow. As the temperature heated up, and
while I trudged up a 2-km (1.2-mile) slope,
I took the gloves off because my hands were too warm. There was no way
to attach the gloves to my jacket and they are too big to fit in the
pockets of my fleece jacket comfortably, so I stuffed them into the
front of my ski bib. It
may have looked silly, but it worked and the butterflies on the nearly empty trails didn't seem to mind. The waterproofness of the inner gloves was tested, however, while I nervously compressed snow into balls of ice before descending a blue ("more
difficult") trail that I never should have attempted.
The inner gloves remained dry.

The backpacking trip was an overnighter in Los Padres National Forest at an elevation of
approximately 7,000 ft (2,100 m) in windy but otherwise clear
conditions with an evening temperature of about 40 F (4 C). Except for
chunks of ice flying off the tops of the pine trees, there was no
precipitation. I wore the inner gloves after dinner while I watched our
fire and took them off again when I went to sleep. The
gloves definitely helped keep me warm, but will probably soon be
unnecessary as the evenings are getting warmer in the local mountains.SUMMARYThe mitt shells combined with the inner gloves were great for snow play and, without the
mitt shells, the inner gloves alone worked great while skiing or
hanging around the campfire. They were comfortable, especially
for
gripping ski poles.
The
fit of the Latitude Mitts
turned out to be good enough for me, though still not great. The finger
length was perfect, but the thumb seemed a bit short when my hand was
in any other position besides gripping a ski pole. I think the
anatomical curve and thickness of the inner gloves limited my
dexterity. Since the dexterity of the Latitude Mitts wasn't great,
I often took them off to zip my jacket closed or open a water
bottle. Taking the Latitude Mitts on and off was only a problem when
they got sweaty. The excessive width of the inner gloves didn't bother
me while I used the Latitude Mitts, but I do wonder whether a tighter
fit might have kept my hands even warmer. I never did end up using the
Idiot Cords, though I appreciated the elastic and hook-and-loop
fasteners around the wrists of the inner gloves and was also very
pleased with the easy-to-use Duo Cinch gauntlet closures on the mitt
shells. I have now washed the inner gloves twice and they are still in
great condition with no changes to the fit or color. Summer
has arrived now and, after one last trip to the Sierra Nevada later
this month, I will be putting the Latitude Mitts away for next season.I will definitely continue to use the inner gloves for skiing and the
inner glove and outer mitt shell combination for playing in the snow,
though I will probably switch back to fingerless mittens for snow-free
backpacking.

PROS:

The mitt shells are completely waterproof -- great for snowman building!

The inner gloves can be used separately from the mitt shells

Elastic, hook-and-loop fasteners and cinches around the wrist keep snow and wind out of the Latitude Mitts

CONS:

The mitt shells are completely waterproof - awful for skiing as my hands were drenched in sweat!

The fit could have been better

Dexterity was limited while using the inner gloves alone or the inner glove/mitt shell combination

REMARKS
This concludes my Test Report. Thank you to Outdoor
Research and BackpackGearTest.org for providing me with the opportunity
to test the Latitude Mitts.

Product tested and reviewed in each Formal Test Report has been provided free of charge by the manufacturer to BackpackGearTest.org. Upon completion of the Test Series the writer is permitted to keep the product. Owner Reviews are based on product owned by the reviewer personally unless otherwise noted.